Dreams of Existence
by Trance Sephiroth
Summary: Set 1 year after FFVII:AC.The world is encompassed in battle as Wutai proclaims war using an army ten years in the making, now the only thing that truly stands in their way is Avalanche, but its not enough, they're gonna need help
1. Prologue: Green

Disclaimer:I don't own Final Fantasy or Squaresoft even though I wished I did, almost as much as I wished that I owned 51 percent of Microsoft or invented post-it notes…….oh well if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

Summary: Set 1 year after FFVII:AC. The world is encompassed in battle as Wutai proclaims war using an army ten years in the making, now the only thing that truly stands in their way is Avalanche, but its not enough, and with the planet ready to come apart at the seams, the only man who can help is the greatest general the world has ever known...

**Dreams of Existence**

**Prologue: Green**

Green. That was all you could use to describe the place, green. As far as the eye could see, land stretched out in every direction, undulating and twisting sinuously to form hills and vales. Trees cropped up every so often, not towering giants but large enough to warrant the name, and bushes peppered the landscape as if they had been carelessly chucked there in hindsight while puffy white clouds scudded across a sky so blue it looked as if it had been painted with great care. Of course there was grass, too much grass, filling every nook and cranny till it was almost stifling. The grass was perfect…of course. Perfect height, perfect colour, perfect feel, perfect, perfect, perfect. The entire place was the epitome of perfection; it was paradise to anyone who beheld it…heh…almost anyone.

He stood there amidst the waving grass, a smudge on the otherwise perfect tapestry. His hair flowing like liquid silver in the wind, muscles taut with sweat slowly journeying its way down his bare chest and onto his black leather pants where it was invariably absorbed. His body moved fluidly from one stance to the next, slowly and purposefully executing intricate katas with practiced ease, his sword seemed to be a thin line of light moving as if it were lighter than air and a part of his arm. His eyes focused on something in the distance that only he saw, pools of emerald fire that swallowed everything in its path. Suddenly the wind picked up, blowing harder and faster, as the man burst into a flurry of motion too fast to track with the naked eye. He seemed to strike everywhere at once, his sword now a network of dancing light around him. Faster and faster he moved, the wind howled, uprooting trees and tearing huge swaths of grass from the ground yet leaving him somehow unaffected, black ominous thunderclouds gathered in the sky and jagged white bolts of lightning scored the earth leaving smoldering patches of land in their wake, and as suddenly as he began, he stopped. He remained in one place, unmoving, frozen on one knee with his right arm extended beside him having disemboweled an unseen foe and killed countless more. The wind vanished instantly and the sky regained its former appearance while bits of debris rained down on him and the surrounding area. The once serene landscape now looked like battlefield, overturned trees and large bare patches where lush grass once grew showed the sheer intensity of the winds, while other areas still smoldered from the violent onslaught of lightening that had scarred the land. The man slowly rose to his feet, casting around an unconcerned gaze, and casually straightened the hairs on his head that were out of place.

"Sephiroth" The voice was light and carefree yet sounded serious at the same time. He rounded on the person that called his name and saw the innocent green eyes that he had grown so used to looking, no, glaring at him with anger. "Why do you always have to do that every time you train?" She spread out her hands to indicate the ravaged countryside and looked at him with exasperation; unseen anger laced her words with promises of pain and torture that she was too gentle to carry out. "Why?"

He just looked at her, displaying no emotion at, or regard for her words, shrugged slightly and replied nonchalantly "Y… is a figure… with a very long tail."

Aeris's eyes bulged and her mouth worked furiously, like a fish, trying to form coherent words to make a reply yet failing fantastically.

Having reduced Aeris to a gibbering idiot, a satisfied Sephiroth turned and slowly made his way across the ruined meadow he was currently standing in to a small house that had remained surprisingly unharmed.

Aeris recovered her higher brain functions soon after and rushed after him, her face flushed with embarrassment. She skidded to a stop a few feet from Sephiroth, who was currently in the process of removing a bush that had gotten tangled up on the house's doorknob, lifted a shaky finger at him and said tersely "I'm not done with you yet mister, the council wants to have a word with you!"

He stiffened imperceptibly and a muscle in his back twitched. He wrenched open the door and said quietly, "Oh?" There was a dangerous undertone in his voice that did not escape Aeris's notice. "Is it another one of their little 'talks'?" He slowly turned around, his hair blowing gently in the breeze and fixed her with an intense yet unreadable look.

Aeris shuddered as those burning green orbs seemed to fix her in place, scouring away her flesh and looking into her soul. She rubbed her arms violently to rid them of the Goosebumps that suddenly seemed to appear all over them. She took an involuntary step backwards and replied a little more shakily than she realized "No, It seems as if this meeting was organized by the request of Mother Gaia herself."

He quirked his eyebrows and pressed his mouth into a thin line for a few seconds, before turning away and striding off into the house, pausing momentarily in the hall to fix his appearance in a conveniently located mirror before stalking of into his room.

Standing on the now empty porch, Aeris slowly walked into to living room and found herself, yet again, taking stock of the room; it was all very surgical. The walls were all white with no decorations save a single portrait. The furniture was practical, an armchair and footrest in front of the fireplace and sofa at the back of the room with a reading lamp beside it. The entire left wall was a bookcase stuffed with books, most of which she had never heard of. The right wall was a weapons rack filled with items ranging from swords to nunchuku and some that she had never seen before. The center wall housed the fireplace, planet knows why have a fireplace in an area where it does not snow, and above it was the portrait, which was, surprisingly, was a very good rendition of a beach during a sunset.

She was still contemplating the use of the fireplace when she heard the words "If you're wondering why the fireplace is there, it's because I find it calming to look and listen to a fire." from directly behind her. She spun around to see Sephiroth standing right behind her wearing a white long sleeved silk shirt, white slacks and white shoes, he smelled faintly of flowers and his hair was neatly groomed and tied in a low ponytail. He eyed her critically and added, "I can also make it snow here, remember that I have control over this plane and changing weather is a minor problem, in fact it won't be the first time."

Aeris's eyes widened in shock, he couldn't have been out of the room for more than a minute or two yet there he was, clean as a whistle and dressed in completely different clothes.

Noticing how comically wide her eyes had become, Sephiroth sighed heavily and reminded her of his previous statement and as such could clean himself and change his clothes at will. Folding his arms and narrowing his eyes, he suddenly adopted an air of cold indifference and cut right to the chase.

"So why does the planet want me to meet with the Cetran council, surely if she wanted to meet me herself she could come here and do it, after all, this place is of her own making." He said coolly and inclined his head towards a window that showed a breathtaking view of the rolling countryside.

She followed his gaze outside, also taking in the view, and did a double take after noticing the definite lack of carnage that had just been commonplace outside. She turned back to Sephiroth who now wore smirk, if you could call a slight twitch of the lips a smirk, and narrowed her eyes.

"What happened to all the uprooted trees and grass?" she hissed, anger finally clouding her sunny disposition.

Sephiroth merely looked down at his clothes and lifted a questioning eyebrow.

Aeris recoiled as if burned and raised an accusing finger. "You could have fixed it all along!" she said, "So why haven't you ever fixed it while I was here!" She fixed him with an accusing glare and then seemed to come to a startling revelation. "All that wind and lightning, you create that! It's not because of your great power or anything like that, you just cause those things to happen while you train because you want to!"

She stood there taking deep breaths, her face flushed with anger and a tinge of embarrassment while Sephiroth just looked at her impassively.

Sephiroth's eyes lit up with amusement that never reached his face and replied, "One: Yes, I could have fixed it all along, two: I've never done it while you were here because not doing so results in you being pissed off, and three: I don't cause the weather to change because I simply want to, but because…." And the right side of his lips migrated northward ever so slightly as he said, "It looks cool."

Aeris looked as if you could knock her down with a feather. She never expected Sephiroth to actually answer her, much less say THAT. She goggled at him and almost swallowed her tongue as his face suddenly exploded into a full-blown smile. To say she was surprised would be like saying that the Northern Crater was a pothole.

Sephiroth immediately schooled his face back to its relatively expressionless state and got deadly serious and said with frightening calm. "I answered your questions, now you answer mine, now again, why does the planet wish me to meet with the council, and why send you?" His eyes burned into hers until she swore she could see them if she closed her eyes.

Aeris played with the buttons of her shirt and stared at the ground, wishing that Sephiroth was not always as perceptive as he was and cursing him silently for throwing her off balance. She cleared her throat and tried to regain the semblance of composure. "I don't know why the planet wants you to meet with the council, I was not informed of any reasons, I was only told to go and fetch you." she replied, her eyes not meeting his glare.

Sephiroth glowered even more, if that were possible, and Aeris could literally feel the heat emanating from his eyes. "As to why they sent me to issue the summons…. I think you know why" she said finally meeting his gaze, albeit uneasily.

His eyed dimmed to embers, a welcome reprise from the raging inferno that they were moments ago, and he turned away slowly to face his fireplace, which was now lit and burned merrily. He walked over to his armchair and sat down, staring into the fire, his face betraying nothing, and stayed there, unmoving.

Ignoring the sharp cracks and snaps coming from the fireplace, Aeris wordlessly observed him, the glow from the fire making his hair adopt an orange hue. She had an idea of what he was contemplating however, and looked at him with a wide array of emotions flitting across her face; rage, sorrow, anguish and pity were only a few that were visible, it was not that long ago as she recalled it...

----------

When Sephiroth's body had entered the lifestream after his defeat at the hands of Avalanche, the planet had tried to cleanse his body of the alien presence known as Jenova and absorb his soul so that he could return to the planet and be reborn, the operative word was tried. Jenova's cells were a part of his DNA and, more importantly, Jenova was part of his soul. The taint could not be removed for it would destroy his soul and the planet was not going to do that to one of her children, even as twisted as he was. The planet decided to make a place for him to live until it could decide what would be done with him. In the interim, the planet allowed him to meet with his real mother, Lucrecia, until the time came for her to be absorbed and reborn.

It was during this time that he was made to learn the truth of his origins and he, surprisingly, accepted them without any difficulty, except the part where she told him that his father was possibly Hojo, he didn't like that at all. The surprising thing was that she was not sure that Hojo was his real father, and that his father could be a lover that she had before he was born. She told him that the man's name, which had knocked Aeris senseless, was Vincent Valentine and asked that if he ever saw him again in life or death, tell him she was sorry that she never listened to him and that she forgave him for everything. Aeris had witnessed this exchange from inside the lifestream and wept silently for Sephiroth after she had heard him relate the early experiences of his childhood under Hojo's care and his later experiences during the Wutai War. He shied away from his more recent experiences however and no amount of persuading by his mother would get him to tell her. Soon after this, she was absorbed by planet who had given her an extended period so that she could meet with the son she never had the chance to in life, any longer and her soul would have faded away. He was visibly shaken by the encounter, but that vanished in short order. It seemed that his heart was made of ice and, for a while, the ice had melted, but it had returned many times colder, and many times thicker.

After that event, the Cetran council demanded to see him so that he could be interrogated about Jenova and his crimes against the world…. needless to say, it did not go well. Between Sephiroth giving everyone frosty glares and remaining about as cooperative as a red dragon, the inquisition failed dismally. They tried three more times, meeting with a worse failure each time, and then just seemed to give up. Not for the lack of trying however, they threw everything at him but the kitchen sink, using an array of aggressive and passive tactics, none worked. In the fourth and final session, they had tried to get him to talk by using guilt as oil to lubricate his throat by having Aeris present and visible, it did work, but not in the way they intended. He had looked at her with blank, expressionless eyes that flickered with a shadow of remorse and said that he was sorry for killing her and that's it, her death was not entirely his fault and he was not the only one to blame, and that the guilt was to be shared among many. He had then faced the council and told her to ask them if they had not known of her death beforehand, and did nothing to help her avoid it simply because it was the only way to summon Holy. The council room went deadly quiet and no one stopped Sephiroth as he calmly exited the room and vanished into the hallway, no one stopped Aeris either as she fled the room minutes later.

----------

Aeris was startled out of her reverie at the sound of a throat being cleared beside her, she jumped slightly as she realized that Sephiroth was standing right beside her, gazing at her intently. She chastised herself silently for making him startle her; she had thought she had grown used to his presence and the way he seemed to appear out of nowhere; after all, they had a relationship that could almost be called friendly, although sometimes it seemed more like a case of mutual tolerance.

Aeris wondered what his final decision was going to be to in regard the summons, but as she boarded that train of thought, Sephiroth moved around, stood calmly in front of her and said almost wearily "Alright, I'll go to this pointless meeting, fifth time's a charm right?"

He swept past her without so much as a backward glance and stepped out onto the front porch and surveyed the rolling countryside in all its glory and grimaced.

Green…. the whole place was too damn green.

----------

Please review, constructive criticism is welcome. This is not a Sephiroth x Aeris, and for those of you who are wondering, you'll just have to wait for a few more chapters to find out.


	2. Chapter 1: Three Months

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy or Squaresoft even though I wished I did, almost as much as I wished that I owned 51 percent of Microsoft or invented post-it notes…….oh well if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

Summary: Set 1 year after FFVII:AC. The world is encompassed in battle as Wutai proclaims war using an army ten years in the making, now the only thing that truly stands in their way is Avalanche, but its not enough, and with the planet ready to come apart at the seams, the only man who can help is the greatest general the world has ever known...

**Dreams of Existence**

**Chapter 1: Three Months**

"Three months" he said to himself, "Three months since Edge had been terrorized by Kadaj and his band of misfits, three months since the reconstruction of Midgar had begun anew, and three months since Geostigma vanished from the face of the planet."

He sank deeper into his plush leather chair and looked out of the large glass window that had replaced the rear wall of his office, bulletproof of course, no sense taking unnecessary risks, and let out a large sigh. The sight of new buildings rising out of the so-called ashes of a great city was heartening, yet, the situation that was brewing behind him sucked any peace or joy that could have been gleaned from the moment right out of him. Papers had been piling up on his desk at a startling rate, and now he could barely see over the tops of them. Request forms, reports and propositions of every shape and colour littered his desk and more than once he was tempted to just sweep everything off into his rather large and conveniently located paper shredder/garbage bin.

"Things are going just fine," he told himself, "The reconstruction of Midgar is on schedule and should be finished within two years and the people are finally beginning to realize that life will get better if they all work at it"

He unconsciously cradled his right hand, something he had picked up while affected by Geostigma, and bit his lip as a wave of pain rolled over his body. Phantom pain they called it, the fact that the body got so used to the pain caused by Geostigma that the body had a hard time adjusting to the lack of it that the sudden absence of the disease caused. It was only temporary and very sporadic, but when it occurred, the pain was excruciating. Phantom pain had been the cause of over fifty construction accidents, people falling over railings to their deaths or a person dropping a steel girder, all due to a sudden attack, but it had not directly killed anybody. The Doctors also claimed that the incidences and intensity of phantom pain had dropped drastically in the last month and should be gone altogether in a year's time…hopefully.

"The doctors don't know anything, do they?" he chuckled quietly. Steeling himself, he spun his chair around to face his desk and took a deep breath, "Time to get back to work"

-----

"Humans are ignorant creatures," the black-eyed man mused, "they refuse to believe anything that occurs unless they see it with their own eyes and yet, they will believe in something that isn't visible or tangible with more fervor than is imaginable."

Serious blood red eyes and with cool black eyes clashed fiercely over the bar table, both staring hard and unblinking, neither wanting to give any leeway.

"Yet, it is that same ignorance that makes humans one of the most hardy and tenacious species to ever live." the red-eyed man countered.

"Touché." The black-eyed man blinked and averted his eyes, "The rest is on me."

Tseng sighed woefully and signaled for the waitress while Vincent let off a rare smile that was reserved only for his friends and Turks…although that was the basically same thing. Reno guffawed and slapped Rude on the back and Elena quickly emptied her glass in preparation for the next round of drinks.

"You should know better than to challenge Valentine to a stare-down!" Reno hollered, showing that he was now well past the point of 'a little tipsy'.

Rude merely cleared his throat and gave Tseng a slight smirk, sure… his eyes were dying with laughter, but that was why he wore shades… yes, shades were an integral part of his life…

Elena burped daintily and then blushed furiously. Placing her glass on the table she fixed Tseng with a "that was very dumb and you know it" look and said "Yes, I agree… you should know better than to challenge a man who has blinked less times than Reno has said something intelligent, previous statement included."

Tseng dissolved into gales of laughter and Elena looked as if she had just scaled the Neo-Shinra tower barehanded, Reno however looked ready to burst.

Vincent placed his right hand on Reno's shoulder (as incidentally Reno was sitting to his immediate right), fixed one eye on him and quietly said, "Calm down Reno, you might pop a blood vessel, and then planet knows when I'll get the smell of alcohol out of my clothes."

The table went silent, hell, half the room went silent as everyone's (Who knew Vincent) jaws fell open with regard to the monumentous event that just took place, Vincent… had just told a joke. Reno was still scraping his jaw up off the floor when Tseng burst into laughter yet again, followed closely by roughly half the room, except Rude, who was laughing inside, and Elena, who was wondering just how had so many people heard what Vincent had said when she was sitting across the table from him and barely caught it.

"At least he can get Tseng to unwind, and that's something," grumbled Reno, and then added more quietly to himself "It only took someone who has a larger stick up his ass and the personality of a soap dish."

Of course Vincent had heard everything Reno said, but as usual chose to stay silent.

-----

Tifa gazed at the throng that had gathered in Seventh Heaven and sighed as a fresh wave of laughter broke out from something that, surprisingly, Vincent had said.

"That's not something you see every day," somebody said from behind her, "Vincent telling a joke, next thing you know the sky will be falling on our heads"

"That's happened before, or have you forgotten Meteor already" Tifa joked, recognizing the voice instantly, "I hope not, since you're in charge of the cleanup."

Reeve laughed and said, "Well if we can joke about it, it means we are ready to move on."

"Yes… we are, but some wounds are still too fresh." She said glancing at Cloud who was currently engaged in a heated game of dominoes with Cid, Barret, and Nanaki. How Nanaki played the game with no opposable thumbs was still a mystery to many, and judging by Cloud's grim expression and the sheer volume of curses flowing out of Cid and Barret's mouths, he was winning.

Following her gaze Reeve nodded knowingly and said "Yes, but all wounds heal with time," and after quick glance at Tifa, added "and with help."

Tifa began to polish the counter yet again and bowed her head slightly, her hair fell in front of her eyes hiding her expression, but could not hide the single tear running down the side her face, "Yes I know, but… could you tell him that for me, please?"

Reeve placed his hand on Tifa's shoulder and squeezed it gently in an effort to offer her some comfort.

"Don't worry Tifa, he'll come around sooner or later," he said, "We all do." and with that Reeve turned and went to a table that was occupied by two fellow Neo-Shinra employees who had somehow handed Reeve a drink before he had even reached his chair.

"You're right Reeve," she said to herself, "they all do come around, round and round and round they go, where they stop even they don't know." She looked down for a second, frowned and wiped the tear off the counter.

-----

Cloud slammed his fist into the table, which creaked ominously as the dominoes that were currently residing peacefully on it took to the skies for a few seconds before crashing back down on the table, to the amusement to a certain furry creature.

"What the hell," shouted Cloud while directing a scathing glare at Nanaki, "Are you some kind of domino prodigy or something?"

"Take it easy Spike," said Barret, "Do you want this table to end up like the last three?" He indicated the three thoroughly pulverized tables that lay in a secluded corner of the bar and chanced a quick peek in Tifa's direction only to meet with a glare that would have set his hair on fire…and probably would, if she had any fire materia.

"No," Cloud sighed, "I still owe her for the last two, if I break this one I'll be forced to take a two week vacation to Costa Del Sol for… health reasons."

"You know," said Cid, "you could probably get her to forget all about the motherfuckin' bills for those two fuckin' tables if you clean the shit out of your eyes and ears and give her what she wants."

"And what would that be"

"Just a simple kiss…. And then a night of fucking hot, nasty, sex that will make her toes curl up to her knees!"

"Cid!" said Nanaki. "Your language is atrocious at best, and so is your tact, a usual, but I must say, you do have a point.

The other three member of the table had to reclaim their lower mandibles from the crater that they had now formed in the ground.

Cloud picked up his drink and looked at it warily. "Is there something in the drinks tonight? First Vincent makes a joke and now this…. alcohol _is_ bad for the mind!"

Having recovered enough neural processes to start thinking _and_ cursing again, Cid looked at Nanaki with new respect.

"Who knew you had it in you Red," Said Cid, "I knew we would corrupt you one day!"

Barret who had been shocked into silence nodded sagely at Cid's words. Cloud groaned and buried his head in his hands, blushing furiously and cursing like a sailor, to Cid's immense satisfaction.

"I have corrupted the younger generation, the seeds of destruction have been planted!" Cid laughed evilly and more than a few people wondered how he did that without swallowing his cigarette.

Nanaki flicked one of his ears in annoyance and considered the bowl of amber liquid that sat beside him and pushed it away with his paw, maybe there _was _something wrong with the drink. Too bad, it was good quality liquor and as grandpa always told him, "_never turn down good quality liquor, or suckers who thought he couldn't play a mean game of cards_."

No one had thought it strange that a large red, furry dog creature with a flame on its tail was sitting on a chair drinking alcohol and playing dominoes at a table in a bar, but then again, maybe they were used to it.

After Cid had finished his tirade, he raised his hand and in a sing-song voice shouted out, "OH WAAAAAITREEEEESS, I NEEEED AAAA REEEEEEFIIIILLLLLLL!" Yes, Cid was definitely drunk, or he had a fervent death wish.

By this time Cloud had regained some of his dignity and watched Cid as if he had grown a second head. Growling to himself he leaned over to Nanaki and said, "Red, did you really agree with Cid, should I really tell her that I love her?"

Nanaki nodded and then turned his attention to the dominoes with a serious look in his eyes.

"Tell her Cloud, she yearns to hear it" Nanaki said, "and she won't wait on it forever."

"I know Red, but… it's so hard, I'd prefer to fight Sephiroth again before I say it, but I don't know why. I know I love her but… why is it so hard?"

"I can't tell you why Cloud, I can only tell you what I think"

"I'll tell her soon, I just need more time to sort out my feelings, the last three months have been hectic and I haven't had any time to sit down think about things"

"Do that, it might help more than you know."

"Thanks Red" Cloud said as he mussed up Nanaki's hair, "you're like the big, wise, furry brother I never had."

Nanaki shook his head, gave Cloud a level glare and said, "NEVER do that again"

"Duly noted." Cloud said and edged away from Nanaki.

By this time Cid had gotten his drinks and looked happier than ever while Barret was watching his glass as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. Their attention snapped back to the table as soon as they noticed Nanaki begin to _shuffle_ the dominoes.

"By the way Cloud" Nanaki said, with as close to a smile as he could manage, "If I were in your shoes, I would have fathered at least two litters of pups by now."

Cloud flushed and in a strangled voice replied, "Just shut up and concentrate on the damn game!"

Barret and Cid just chuckled.

There was DEFINITELY something in the goddamned drinks….

-----

"Why does this always happen to me?" Yuffie moaned and straightened the rather short skirt that she currently wore, "The greatest ninja in the world shouldn't have to put up with this shit!"

Weaving in-between tables and chairs with a platter of drinks held over her head, she made her way towards the table that currently seated Vincent and the Turks, apparently they all drank like fish and weren't ashamed to admit it. Between dealing with them and a drunken Cid who was singing out his orders just to piss her off, this was turning out to be one hell of a bad night

After Kadaj and 'Sephiroth' had been defeated, Vincent had taken to hanging around the Turks a lot and seemed to have loosened up a little bit, the joke he told earlier had proven that, and at times you could catch the hint of a smile on his face. Be that as it may, he was still a frigid bastard who could peel the paint off a wall with his stare.

"Here you go sir." Yuffie said in a sickly sweet voice as she served the drinks out at the table, "I hope you are enjoying your food and drinks… _enough to choke to choke and die on them!_"

She said that last part to herself, but judging from the brief flash of amusement in his eyes, Vincent had heard every last word. Damn him and his freakishly good hearing!

She caught Reno giving her an appraising look and had to mentally clamp down on her 'break-pervert's-nose' reflex. Somehow she knew that on some level Reno was undressing her with his eyes, so she hurried away from the table before she did something she knew she would regret, promising to kill Reno later and thinking dark thoughts at Tifa for forcing her into this situation.

Well technically, it was her fault that she was in the situation in the first place, but who knew that Tifa would hold it against her and humiliate her in such awful, albeit, inventive fashion. All she did was try to make off with a _small _stash of materia, and in the process of sneaking away, got startled by a mouse and ended up knocked over an entire cupboard of glasses and plates, but that did not mean that Tifa could force her to wear a waitress outfit and tell her to work of the damages as a punishment for stealing!

As she was lost in very satisfying thoughts of revenge, she felt a hand firmly caress her ass and pinch hard. She yelped and spun around, bringing her now fisted hand to bear, but there was no one there. All the people in the bar were minding their own business or their drinks, some were looking over her and Annabelle, the other waitress, with lusty eyes but none were near enough, or brave enough to her to fondle her in that manner. The only people near to her were Cloud, Cid and Barret, who were playing dominoes with Red, of all people, and a table-full of women who were playing some form of card game.

Spinning around again, she made another cursory scan of the bar and let out a sigh. That had not been the first time for the night that she had been fondled in such a manner and it probably wouldn't be the last. She straightened her skirt and continued on her way to the bar to pick up another round of drinks but didn't get more than one step before a hand grabbed hers. A small jolt ran up her arm and she snatched her hand away and rounded on the person only to see that it was one of the women who was playing cards at the table she had just passed.

The woman was a little taller than her with soft brown eyes and a small mouth. She had long brown hair that flowed down to the middle of her back and looked very timid. She wore a plain blue top and skirt and had a loop earring in one ear. All in all, she was not what Yuffie had expected at all.

"Why'd you grab me?" Yuffie demanded, "If you wanted something, all you had to do was call me over!"

"I'm sorry," the woman said in a low voice, "but I am a bit soft spoken and I was sure that you wouldn't hear me calling you."

Considering the fact that Yuffie had to strain to hear her from just two feet away, she really couldn't blame the woman.

"Alright," Yuffie said, "Whaddya want? a drink? Food? Maybe some-"

"Nothing like that" the woman said suddenly, "I just need your help with something. You see I was in the ladies room a little while ago and saw something that… Well, come and see for yourself."

The woman turned and started to walk toward the ladies room and said over her shoulder, "My name is Nadia, by the way."

Yuffie walked up behind her and said, "Mine's Yuffie"

Nadia just nodded and walked down the hall to the ladies room. She paused at the door and said, "After you."

Yuffie entered the bathroom cautiously, not knowing what to expect and was pleasantly surprised to see a definite lack of bodily waste, vomit, or anything else that was particularly disgusting. She turned to ask Nadia exactly what the problem was when there was a sharp 'click' as the door was locked, and lounging against it was Nadia with a smile on her face and a predatory gleam in her eyes.

Yuffie's danger sense kicked into high alert and she began to frantically assess the situation.

"I have no weapons, I'm dressed like a waitress, and there are no other means of escape except through her, while Nadia is not dressed to fight, has no visible weapons and has just sealed off her only means of escape." She thought to herself, "That meant only one thing, clearly Nadia is an incredibly skilled assassin sent to kill me and I have fallen right into her trap.

Nadia suddenly darted forward and the stunned Yuffie only had time to step back before Nadia was in her face. Yuffie opened her mouth to scream and simultaneously brought her and up to deliver an open palm strike to Nadia's face and froze as her scream was cut off by one of the most passionate (and only) kisses she had ever recieved. Yuffie was unable to move until Nadia broke the kiss, and then all she was able to do was sink to her knees in shock.

Scratch the assassin theory

"W..w..w..w..wwhat was that all about" she said hoarsely, "why'd you kiss me, aren't you an assassin?"

"Assassin? Dear planet no! Nadia said, recoiling a step, "I have no intention of harming a single hair on your beautiful head."

"Now that we've straightened that out," Yuffie replied dryly, after managing to get back to her feet, "why'd you kiss me?"

"Isn't it obvious," Nadia said, smiling seductively, "I think you are beautiful young woman who can make this night a whole lot better for us both"

It took a little while for the implications to sink into Yuffie's brain; after all, nobody said that she was the brightest person in the world, but she was quite possibly one of the most naive. Her eyes widened and she backed all the way up and pressed herself against the wall as if she wanted to melt through it, How could the timid woman she me outside actually behave like this? Yuffie had no idea what to do, in a fight you defeat your opponent, fight them until only one is left standing, this situation was a _little_ out of her league. Nadia followed her and placed her hands on either side of Yuffie's head and leaned in until their noses were touching.

"Hey…wait…wha…I mean…wh…I'm not…mmmpphhhhhhhh!" Yuffie said as Nadia's lips crashed into hers again, this time she felt Nadia's tongue enter her mouth and intertwine with hers and couldn't help but moan as Nadia sucked on her lip. Nadia broke the kiss and there was a thin line of saliva running between their mouths, Yuffie was flushed and breathing heavily when Nadia cupped her face.

"I've always admired the exotic beauty of the Wutaians" She said and slipped her hand up Yuffie's shirt.

LEMON SCENE WAS HERE

"Shit, that was intense." gasped Nadia a minute later, "This has turned out to be a good night after all." She turned and looked at Yuffie, "We'd better get dressed and get the hell out of here."

Yuffie nodded and slowly rose to her feet, gathering her clothes in her hands. Turning her back on Nadia and staring blankly at the tiles on the wall, she began to slip on her clothes.

She never heard the movement, never felt the minute changes in the air, but she felt the blow that made fireworks explode in her head and the world to fade to a dull gray. Whirling around unsteadily, she found herself face to face with Nadia… no, not Nadia.

The woman standing in front of her clearly Wutaian, long, straight black hair hung limply from her head, plastered to her naked body and hard black eyes watched her with barely restrained anger.

"You call yourself a ninja?" the woman spat, "You are too young and naive to even consider calling yourself that!"

Yuffie's vision exploded into a brilliant display of colours as the woman grabbed her throat and slammed her violently into the wall behind her, cracking it in the progress.

"You are a worthless fool who thinks that she could redeem Wutai's glory by _stealing_ materia and who honors her father by running away from him every chance she gets. I weep for Wutai, for its royal line will truly end with Lord Godo, not continued through its useless princess!"

Yuffie's mouth moved soundlessly as tears streamed down her face.

There was as sickening thud followed immediately by a loud crunch as the woman's fist sank into her stomach with enough force to cause the wall behind her to break and cave in slightly. Blood and spittle spurted from her mouth as she folded over the woman's fist and blacked out for a few seconds from the intense pain.

"Weak bitch." The woman sneered, removing her hand.

Yuffie fell to her hands and knees, gasping for breath, and threw up a revolting mixture of partially digested food and blood. She retched and coughed violently, the result of her body trying to simultaneously empty her stomach and take a breath. Another vicious blow to the back of the head made Yuffie collapse face first into the large pool of vomit that she had just created.

"Now that's a fitting position for you 'Princess', maybe I should let you drown in your own vomit, yes… that would be a death worthy of you." the woman taunted.

Yuffie weakly turned her head enough to focus a single eye on the woman and let out a small whimper.

"Pathetic, I won't stain my weapons with your filthy blood," The woman said and placed her foot on Yuffie's neck, "so I'll just have to crush the life out of you."

Yuffie's eyed widened and she opened her mouth to scream but it caught in her throat as almost inaudible words escaped the woman's mouth and somehow reached Yuffie's ears.

There was load snap, a fleeting burst of pain and then….. nothing.

-----

Yuffie's eyes snapped open and she as sat up with a gasp, her body was drenched with sweat and she was shivering slightly. Her hands flew to her neck, seemingly of their own accord, and found it unharmed and slowly folded themselves in her lap. Yuffie looked around and realized that she was in a hospital room. The blindingly white walls and smell of disinfectant were a dead giveaway. The room was dark and empty save the bed she was on and some equipment that was in the corner beeping slowly.

"How'd I end up here?" she wondered, "The last thing I remember is…."

The memories of what had transpired slammed into her mind like a truck and she felt her stomach tighten and spasm. She turned and threw up over the side of the bed. It was only after she had finished retching and wiped her mouth with a towel that she realized that the basin that just happened to be right below her chin and the towel that had been right in front her face were actually being held by somebody.

Her head snapped up and her eyes met with a bloody gaze that could only belong to one person.

"You're awake." Vincent said impassively

Yuffie nodded in response.

"You were unconscious for three and a half weeks"

"Three and a half weeks!" She exclaimed, "Where's the woman who attacked me?" she said, her voice hoarse and scratchy from lack of use, "The one who was in the bathroom with me. Did she escape?"

Puzzlement flashed across Vincent's face for a brief moment before it was quickly smothered by a frown.

"No one attacked you in the bathroom" he said.

"What!" Yuffie screeched hoarsely, "Fuck you Vincent! I think I would know if I was nearly fucking killed in the goddamn bathroom!"

Vincent looked taken aback by her outburst, but that was once again put to death by a frown.

"No one attacked you in the bathroom Yuffie." He repeated, "You were poisoned."

Yuffie's face went from enraged to shocked to puzzled and back again in the time it took Vincent to place the towel and bowl aside.

"What do you mean I was poisoned?" Yuffie said slowly

"Exactly that" Vincent replied

"Well tell me how!" Yuffie exploded, "I distinctly remember being lured to the bathroom under a false pretence by a woman named Nadia and then…."

Colour flooded Yuffie's cheeks at the memory and she prayed Vincent thought that it was because she was angry.

"Then what?" Vincent asked

"Then what?" Yuffie said the blood draining suddenly from here face leaving it startlingly pale, "Then…SOMEONE FUCKING KILLED ME THAT'S WHAT!"

Yuffie began to cry, hard sobs wracking her tiny frame, and Vincent appeared unaffected by her whole outburst… cold bastard.

There was an uncomfortably long silence that was only broken by sobs and the rustling of Yuffie's sheets. The sobs eventually died down as Yuffie brought hers emotions under control and fixed Vincent with a hateful gaze.

"How can you stand there like that and tell me that that never happened!" Yuffie screamed, tears streaming down her face.

Vincent pushed off of the wall he was leaning on and walked up to the bedside, flicking on the light switch while doing so. The lights bathed the room in a cool white glow that made Vincent's eyes seems like two pools of liquid fire.

He stood beside the bed staring down at her quietly for a few moments and reached out and placed his hand on her head. Yuffie's eyes widened to the size of saucers as he ruffled her hair in a playful manner and gave her a look that had a hint of warmth in it.

"Everything that you experienced was nothing but a dream." he said.

"WHAAAAAAAATTT!" was Yuffie's stunned response.

"You were under the influence of a incredibly potent drug that attacks the centers of the brain that control pleasure and pain." He said matter-of-factly.

"Huh?"

"It controlled whether you felt pleasure or pain" he sighed.

"Ooooooh……WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTT" screamed Yuffie.

Vincent continued speaking as if she had said nothing.

"The drug makes you sleep deeply and induces REM sleep. It is when the brain enters that state that you dream, and that is when the drug is the most potent. It then attacks the brain centers and slowly degrades them, eventually causing irreparable brain damage."

Vincent sat on the bad and looked into her eyes

"You were lucky to survive." He said.

"I don't know what happened to you in that dream, but what we saw was a woman grab your hand and then you passed out instantly. Moments later, you started thrashing wildly, screaming and foaming at the mouth. We rushed you to the hospital as fast as possible and if it wasn't for Rufus sending his best doctors…."

He let that statement hang in the air. Yuffie swallowed thickly and the remaining colour in her face vanished.

"There is something that you must know however," he said gravely.

He paused for a moment, looking at her intensely and put his hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

Yuffie began to feel fear pooling in the pit of her stomach, in her experience, Vincent had never comforted anyone, something was wrong.

"The decision to save you was not made lightly."

Yuffie was numbed by that statement, the whole room seemed to flip over in her mind and distantly she wondered if she was still alive or another horrible dream. She opened her mouth in indignation and was cut off when Vincent squeezed her shoulder almost painfully.

"It's not that we did not want to save you, but the procedure to save you was equally dangerous and the full effects were not known."

Yuffie's mouth closed with an audible 'click'.

"At first, you were making progress, but the drug had been active for too long and had degraded your pain and pleasure centers so badly that you felt pain…or pleasure at random. One moment we could hold and move you uneventfully, the next, the friction caused by your clothes rubbing against you was enough to make you try to tear off your skin in anguish or send you headfirst into a violent orgasm.

Yuffie's face matched Vincent's eyes for a few moments after that statement.

"You would have certainly died from sensory overload if we did nothing, but the solution was not much better, so we settled it by asking ourselves what you would have suggested had you been in our place… and so we decided to try and save you."

Vincent closed his eyes for a moment, looking as if he was steeling himself for what he was about to say.

"To save your life, Yuffie, you had to undergo a mako shower to remove the drug and any of its byproducts completely from your body."

Yuffie's eyes widened considerably at this.

"And to heal your brain damage, the doctors and scientists had to use the one thing in the world that we know with such drastic regeneration capabilities…"

"No," she said, "don't tell me it was…"

"Jenova cells." Vincent finished

Yuffie stared at Vincent in horror and shock for what seemed to be an eternity before moving her attention to her shaking hands.

"I don't feel any different," she said, "Maybe nothing happened."

"The cells are still dormant" Vincent said, "they won't become truly active until you recover more of your strength.

Yuffie fell back into her pillows, still staring at her hands.

"So these cells came from Cloud eh?

"No, Cloud's cells were incompatible with your blood type"

"What!" Yuffie said, shooting up again, "What do you mean?"

"The only way to give the cells to you was to give you Cloud's blood. His Jenova cells were not resilient enough to survive the extraction process and died moments afterwards, and also Cloud's blood rejected your blood…violently.

Vincent felt his stomach give a slight twinge when he remembered how Cloud's blood had actively destroyed Yuffie's own when they had combined it in the lab.

"They had to use an existing sample that had survived the fall of the Shinra building and luckily had not yet been destroyed by Rufus."

Yuffie looked at him questioningly

"The cells came from Specimen 01, Subject ID Number 737447684, Name… Sephiroth"

The room was plunged into a thick silence as the full impact of what Vincent said hit Yuffie.

"WHAT!" She shrieked, jumping completely out of the bed, "How could you inject any part of that bastard into me?"

"It was the only way to save you Yuffie!" He said gruffly and his eyes suddenly flashed angrily, "Part of that 'bastard' saved your life!"

Yuffie's stared sightlessly ahead as she sank hopelessly to her knees.

"So, am I going to become like him?" she said, gazing at her hands with an air of utter defeat, "Am I like Kadaj"

"No" said Vincent, "but we don't know the full ramifications of what we did… I am truly sorry." Said Vincent, "All we know is that the cells that were used are from a similar sample as the ones that were used on Cloud, so we assume that you will not turn into Sephiroth, but may turn out more like Cloud did, hopefully."

"Don't be sorry" Yuffie sighed, "You're right, I would have suggested the same thing if I was in your shoes."

Yuffie rose to her feet leaning weakly on the wall and shook her head.

"Well, at least it can't get any worse than this." she said, laughing mirthlessly.

Her eyes shifted to Vincent as he shifted slightly and remained painfully silent.

"What," said Yuffie fearfully, "There's more?"

Vincent walked right up to Yuffie and stared her in the eye.

"The others didn't want to tell you this until you had recovered some more, but I feel that it is your right more than anyone else's to know." he said.

Yuffie felt that sinking feeling again and warning bells began to sound in her head.

"The woman who had grabbed your hand in the bar had injected the poison into your body via a hollow needle."

"I thought you said I wasn't attacked?" Yuffie said

"I said you weren't attacked in the bathroom and that you were poisoned, I never denied that you were in fact attacked." He said.

Yuffie let it pass because you really couldn't argue with Vincent's cold, hard logic, and she was too tired to think anymore.

"Moving on," Vincent said, "When you collapsed, people thought that you had fainted from exhaustion or something along those lines, but I am familiar with assassination techniques and luckily recognized the one used on you. When I confronted the woman about it, she and her companions attacked us and when it was made clear that they would lose, they all committed suicide before we could get a chance to question them."

"So they were sent to assassinate us," Yuffie said, "Why?"

"Not us," he said quietly, "only you."

Yuffie's eyebrows drew together and her mouth tightened.

"What do you mean 'only me' " she said, "How do you know?"

Vincent lapsed into one of his famous silences and seemed as if he were contemplating telling her or not. The warning bells were now going haywire in her head.

"Vincent, How do you know?" She asked again.

"They were Wutaian shinobi in disguise Yuffie," he said, "that's how we knew."

Yuffie backed away from him and collapsed bonelessly against the wall

"Impossible, why…my father…never…Wutai…no!" She stuttered

Vincent looked at her with a feeling that he was all too familiar with, guilt. Not giving her a chance to collect her thoughts, he continued.

"Two weeks ago we received a proclamation from Wutai" he said.

Yuffie stopped speaking immediately and focused intensely on Vincent.

He paused for a few seconds before continuing, "We were told that Lord Godo Kisaragi was… killed during a military coup in Wutai four weeks ago and a man named General Ryoshi has taken control of the country."

Yuffie looked as if the slightest touch would cause her to shatter and Vincent cursed himself for doing what had to be done.

"Also," Vincent said "Wutai has declared war on Shinra and the rest of the world."

Vincent moved forward to catch Yuffie as the crumpled to the floor in a dead faint.

He placed her gently on the bed and fixed her covers and turned off the light,

"Cloud and the others will be angry with me for this," he thought, "but it had to be done."

Turning to exit the room he paused at the threshold and chuckled darkly to himself, "Three months, three months later and we're back in shit up to our eyeballs."

Closing the door behind himself he paused again and swallowed thickly, his throat uncomfortably dry and scratchy from so much talking.

Reno had the right idea, right now he really needed a goddamned drink….

-----

-REM sleep is short for 'Rapid Eye Movement' so called because your eyes move around under your eyelids very quickly. It is during this phase of sleep (because there are 4 phases) that dreaming is most likely to occur.

-I haven't named the drug yet because:  
1: I don't need to yet  
2: I……….needtocomeupwithagoodnameforit…hehehehe -scratches head-

I removed the lemon scene as I found it unnecessary and upon revision seemed very out of place and sudden, so I refer to it but have excluded it entirely, I may post the chapter with the lemon in its entirety on another website, but as for now, no lemon. As to what the mysterious dream woman told Yuffie, well you'll just have to wait to find out.

Please read and review and thanks to those who have reviewed so far.


	3. Chapter 2: Give 'em HELL!

Disclaimer:I don't own Final Fantasy or Squaresoft even though I wished I did, almost as much as I wished that I owned 51 percent of Microsoft or invented post-it notes…….oh well if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

Summary: Set 1 year after FFVII:AC. The world is encompassed in battle as Wutai proclaims war using an army ten years in the making, now the only thing that truly stands in their way is Avalanche, but its not enough, and with the planet ready to come apart at the seams, the only man who can help is the greatest general the world has ever known...

**Dreams Of Existence**

**Chapter 2: Give 'em HELL!**

To say that Sephiroth was a little annoyed would be pushing the word 'understatement' to its theoretical limits. Irritation and anger seared their way through his veins like molten lava until he was sure that if he had one more unhappy thought, he would spontaneously combust. His face however, seemed to be carved from solid stone for all the emotion that he let show on it, not a single muscle in his face twitched or moved slightly, not even to blink. His eyes, which were like two shards of green ice embedded in his face, regarded everything with a cool indifference that belied the unbridled rage that coursed in white-hot bursts just below his skin.

He was dressed in his ever-present battle suit, which, unlike what most people thought, was not made of leather. He looked down at his hands, which were bound by what appeared to be two glowing manacles connected by a cord of magic, and flexed them. He felt the material of his gloves yield like silk under his fingers and smiled grimly to himself. Shinra's best kept secret aside from the Jenova project, one of the secrets behind Soldier's seeming invulnerability and one of the main reasons why Soldier's budget had been over 30 billion gil every year.

Highly Adaptable Environmental Anamorphic Material or HAEAM for short was the name of the revolutionary material that every soldier from third to first class wore into battle and the more important you were, the more of it you got to wear. It was ingenious actually; the material was actually the product of the weapons research division who had accidentally stumbled upon it while trying to find new types of materials to make bullets out of. The original concept had been to make bullets that could be compressed so that hundreds could easily fit into a single clip, but upon firing, would expand to normal its size. The material used was a Teflon type material that initially is very soft, pliable and easy to compress, but when it is put under extreme pressure or velocity, it becomes as hard as steel. The concept never left the drawing board, but the material worked just fine.

Soldier immediately took control over the material and with a few tweaks had turned it into the most versatile body armor on the planet. It felt like silk on the skin until something hit it with enough force to cause it to harden, then it could stop bullets, knives, shurikens and even turn a Soldiers sword. It was also fireproof and sensitive to changes in temperature so in cold temperatures, the material contracted and hugged the body like a second skin becoming a decent insulator against the cold. All in all, it was a great piece of work and every piece of material on his body except for his shoulder armor was made of it, even his boots.

Sephiroth felt a sharp stab of guilt in his gut as the memory of flames licking futilely at his clothes as he stood uncaring in their midst, flashed through his head. His emotionless mask cracked for a few seconds, long enough for someone to realize the expression on his face had he or she looked, and was slammed back into place almost immediately.

Cursing himself for his carelessness, he cast a searching glare around his 'escorts' to see if anyone had seen his blunder. Seeing the rigid postures and the white knuckles of the men accompanying him, he wagered that they were trying their best to ignore the fact that he existed. Smiling to himself, he proceeded to retreat into the world of thoughts again.

Many people felt that he was incapable of feeling emotions or pain, and that perception paired with his prowess and reputation in battle had earned him many 'wonderful' nicknames such as 'Heartless Bastard', 'Silver Nightmare' and his personal favorite, 'Angel of Death'. It wasn't that he didn't have feelings; it was just that he had made the ability to conceal and ignore them into a fine art. During his 'formative years', that ability had been paramount when it came to avoiding prolonged sessions with his 'father', who had derived some sort of sick pleasure from his pain and tears. It was these sessions that had forged the cage around his heart, but it was the callousness and enmity of his caretakers that had frozen it.

It was with all these thoughts floating around inside of his head that he was escorted through the winding streets of Ral'Tashul, the capital of the Promised Land. The city itself was simply breathtaking, no city on the planet even came close to matching the splendor of Ral'Tashul in all its glory. Tall, multicolored crystal spires that sparkled in the light reached for the sky, vying to see which would be the tallest while people bustled around them like ants, flowers and trees stood metres apart and lined all the streets of the city, yet they never shed a single leaf or petal until autumn and winter stole them away. Small buildings made of a hard substance similar to stone served as houses and shops while the larger buildings were usually museums, theatres or auditoriums. The roads themselves were paved with square, hand-cut crystal stones that glittered like jewels in the dark, and when sunlight hit them from the appropriate angles, swirls of colours reminiscent of rainbows chasing one another around the sky, rippled across the road.

People were dressed in bright clothes whose colours never seemed to match and yet when taken as a whole, looked oddly stylish. The main mode of transportation was a floating disk called a 'Pletha' whose surface that adhered to any part of the body when used and carried people around much like cars or helicopters did back in Midgar.

The people were not bustling around this day however, nooooo, they were lining the streets trying to get a look at the man that had nearly destroyed the planet. Taunts and jeers were as forthcoming from the crowd as were gasps of shock and awe. Shouts of 'Tainted One' and 'Abomination' rang out and spread through the crowds like wildfire.

Sephiroth pointedly ignored the people and smiled to himself.

"So the kind and gentle Cetra show their true nature." he thought.

His destination was a large seashell shaped building that took up a large portion of the city center and was known as the Sarash Dul'Daemaar or roughly translated, Chamber/Hall of the Ancient/Old ones.

There was a large crowd of people around the entrance of the building and their reception was no less welcoming than the one he had received in the streets. Men and women formed a barricade around the large archway that led into the heart of the building and did not look particularly receptive to the idea of moving out of the way.

A man with slightly graying hair and an odd downward quirk of his eyebrow, giving the impression that he was always frowning, stepped forward and frowned darkly (not helped at all by the quirk).

"That son of a bitch ain't passin' through here without a fight!" the man shouted angrily which shouts of approval from the crowd.

Clearly there were fools everywhere, even among the Cetra.

A flash of anger swept through his body leaving his skin tingling before being meticulously reigned in and stuffed back into the depths of his mind.

"Technically," Sephiroth responded coldly, "I'm the son of the bitch…. that killed you all."

A thick silence descended upon the crowd and the apparent spokesman sputtered dumbly as the crown behind him seemed to withdraw into itself and roil angrily.

A wave of satisfaction crashed into Sephiroth and a small smirk found its way onto his face. It was quickly becoming obvious that the only difference between the Cetra and humans was their magical abilities.

It suddenly occurred to Sephiroth that the situation felt odd. The other times he had been brought before the council, he had not been led through the city like a dog on show, the people of the city had not even known of his presence, so how was it that they turned out in droves to see the fabled 'Son of Darkness'?

The answer hit him like a bolt from the blue. This entire thing was orchestrated, the procession and the people. The Cetran council must be pulling out all the stops to try and disturb him as much as possible before the meeting.

Sephiroth was shaken from his thoughts by a large hand roughly grabbing his shoulder and jerking him forward violently. He stumbled forward slightly and bumped into the guard ahead of him who shoved him back with equal force causing him fall backward into the previous guard.

The crowd burst into laughter and began to taunt and mock him, clearly confident in the power of the manacles on his wrist to suppress his powers. The only problem was that they forgot to take into consideration him monstrous physical abilities that were in no way linked with his ability to use magic.

Now Sephiroth was a reasonable fellow, and was not prone to bouts of anger or random acts of violence, unless under the influence of evil space aliens who claim to be close relatives of his, but under the circumstances and with the months of repressed anger at the council building up inside of him, this was the straw that broke the chocobo's back.

The guard behind him had really chosen the worst time to ignore reason and succumb to his now elevated levels of testosterone.

With the practiced ease of a seasoned warrior, Sephiroth entered battle mode. his eyes narrowed down to slits, fire seemed to ignite in his veins and colours became so sharp that they could make your eyes bleed. His brain mapped out the position of the eight guards automatically and he exploded into action.

Time seemed to slow down as he spun around to the guard behind him. The guard didn't even have time to consider moving before Sephiroth grabbed his right arm and with a gut wrenching 'snap', shattered the man's elbow. The scream had not even built up in the guard's throat when there was another crack as he spun to his left and backhanded the second guard with enough force to make him fly into the wall at the far end of the landing. Using the momentum of the sudden spin, he delivered a brutal roundhouse to the to the third guard on his right, breaking his jaw in the process and landed lightly in a half crouch. By this time the scream had finally emerged from the bowels of the first guards throat and the crowd had begun to realize to what was going on. Before the other guards had regained their wits, he streaked forward and sank both of his fists into the stomachs of the two guards at the front of the procession. As they crumpled bonelessly to the ground, he attacked the closest guard to him, simultaneously factoring in the problem that with the manacles on he could not spread his arms as far as possible, and gave him a magnificent two handed uppercut. While the man slowly rose into the air, he did a one-eighty and smashed his heel into the chest guard who was immediately behind him and almost laughed as he heard at least seven of the man's ribs give way.

The final guard was the only one who got the chance to move and he wasted it by not moving in the opposite direction.

Sephiroth lazily reached over his shoulder with both hands, grabbed the ankle of the now airborne guard behind him and threw him like a stone at the last guard. They collided with a dull thud and met the floor together.

Time sped up again as Sephiroth dropped out of his battle ready mode (as he liked to call it) and was met with looks of shock and horror by the now stunned crowd.

Stepping on the bodies of two guards, he approached the now paralyzed crowd 'speaker' and looked him dead in the eye.

"Now what were you saying before about sons and bitches?" he asked mockingly.

The man wet himself in response

"That's what I thought"

He looked around himself disdainfully and sneered when he laid his eyes upon the guards.

"It only took four seconds" he scoffed, "weak bastards, to think I took it easy on them."

He turned to face the archway as the crowd scurried out of his path like frightened mice. The emotionless mask was not in place and he realized that he didn't feel like using it. The fight had relieved most of the tension he had been building up over the months, almost as if he had experienced an orgasm and was basking in the afterglow.

He laughed and shook his head, only he would hold fighting and having orgasm in the same light…. Well, maybe Zack too, but _he_ definitely had too much of both.

Shoving back down the memories of better times he approached the archway and rested his hand on Mr. 'Speaker's' shoulder as he passed, who promptly fainted. He stopped and considered the fainted man and broke into a huge grin that made at least four women in crowd start weeping in fear.

He walked through the archway and left the crowd with a few words to ponder.

"This has been the most entertainment I've had in years," he said, "I think I'll give the council what they need this time. This time, I'll give 'em _HELL_!"

-----

Well another chapter done, sorry for the wait, work is a BITCH, would a had it out sooner, but i'm also lazy. Please read and reveiw, constructive criticism is welcome as I am very rusty at this writing thing. I know that hell does not really have too much of a reputation in this world, its all about the lifestream and stuff, but work with me here people, I say that people do believe in heaven and hell but have no idea that instead they are cleansed and recycled...(pictures big washing machine beside a recycle bin)

Thanks to Lin-Hikaru-7 and Hyuuga Byakugan for their reviews, I really hope to see more as the story progresses, please, they are like food for the writers soul! (and water, but lets not get into the minor details)


	4. Chapter 3: A Time To Cry

Disclaimer:I don't own Final Fantasy or Squaresoft even though I wished I did, almost as much as I wished that I owned 51 percent of Microsoft or invented post-it notes…….oh well if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

Summary: Set 1 year after FFVII:AC. The world is encompassed in battle as Wutai proclaims war using an army ten years in the making, now the only thing that truly stands in their way is Avalanche, but its not enough, and with the planet ready to come apart at the seams, the only man who can help is the greatest general the world has ever known...

**Dreams Of Existence**

**Chapter 3: A Time To Cry  
**

Sarash Dul'Daemaar or The Hall of the Ancients as it was also called, had been the ancestral meeting place of the Cetran council for over fifteen thousand years and yet it always managed to look as if it had never been used, ever. From afar, it resembled a giant conch shell, one that had been polished to a mirror-like finish and had large runes and symbols engraved into every square inch of its surface. The entire structure exuded an aura that was a mix of power, knowledge and age that when coupled with the sheer majesty of the edifice was enough to cause even the most jaded person to stare in awe, and that was only the outside.

The exterior of the building paled in comparison to the interior.

Large murals adorned the walls, depicting various events that had occurred during the course of Cetran history, some of which were, surprisingly, very graphic renditions of war. Large, strategically placed crystalline pillars lit up entire rooms by diffracting the ambient light in the room that was supplied by a single, floating, ball of light. Shallow grooves ran along the floors and walls, twisting fluidly and intertwining with the other to create strange circular symbols and angular designs whose significance were all but lost to the ravages of time. Random colours pulsed rhythmically and flowed through the grooves like blood would through a vein, giving the impression that the entire place was alive. In every room, there were short pedestals that housed various objects and artifacts that would make any modern historian or architect literally explode with joy.

The Council Chamber was by far the most impressive place in the building however. It was a large circular chamber that was about one hundred feet across and was situated in the dead center of the building. It had a high roof onto which was painted a huge mural that showed the planet wrapped in a cocoon of green mist that could only be lifestream. Crystal pillars were placed evenly around the edge of the room and a semicircular dais that was built into the wall stretched almost halfway around the room. On the dais itself, an ornate crescent shaped table that was made to match the shape and curve of the platform stood proudly, and twenty high-backed chairs that were made of pure materia were set evenly around the far side of the table. The grooves in the floor and wall curved towards the center of the room and formed an intricate circular symbol that was situated directly in front of the dais, which was where a person or persons stood when speaking to the council. It supposedly compelled anyone who was within its confines to speak only the truth, but that had left to be seen as no one who had ever faced the council had even entertained the thought of lying for it was believed that to lie to the Council meant eternal banishment and damnation.

All of that would be very impressive to the casual person, but Sephiroth was hardly a casual person, and therefore, really didn't give a flying fuck.

He moved through the halls of Sarash Dul'Daemaar with an efficiency that could only be described as surgical at worst. He strode down the corridors as if he owned them, managing to generate a highly dignified and refined air about himself even though his hands were still bound by the thrice-damned manacles on his wrists. The few people he had encountered had pressed themselves against the walls as he passed, as if trying to sink into them to escape his very presence. From time to time he would pause and study a mural intently for a minute or two, usually the ones that depicted grisly battle scenes, and then move on as if the were not worth the time and energy it took to gaze at them. In reality, he was burning those images into his memory and filing them away for possible use later on, a photographic memory really had its advantages.

As he traversed the seemingly endless halls however, the reality of his situation began to settle in once again and how to plan his approach began gnaw at his mind. An inner conflict developed that had two clearly defined sides. On one side, his logic told him to tread carefully with the council and hang back until he had fathomed their true intentions, while on the other, his emotions all but screamed at him to show everyone what they were truly dealing with, the true man with the soul of fire that lay trapped beneath the ice.

To any observer, he was walking purposefully to the council chamber with not a shred of care or apprehension in his body, but because of Sephiroth's ability to hide his emotions, there was no indication of the heated battle was taking place inside his head….

-----

"Assume your mental armor!" his Logic shouted in his head, "The Cetra want you bold and hotheaded, not cool and collected!"

"No!" His emotions screamed as they scrabbled wildly for a foothold in his mind, "They're _expecting_ you to be a block of ice, give them a violent flame instead! You've been holding us back for far too long!"

"Releasing your emotions will only bring pain, remember how Hojo used them against you?"

"If you had only released your emotions back then, you would have been rid of Hojo years ago!" his emotion raged.

"To what end, getting locked away forever in the bowels of the Shinra building as a 'dangerous but useful' sample?" his logic countered.

"They could have been easily destroyed if it came to that!"

Sephiroth felt more and more as if he was a spectator who was watching two men arguing about him, rather than a man who was only weighing the pros and cons of a situation to himself. **THAT** was an uncomfortable feeling.

"Yes, destruction, that is the **ONLY** viable course of action when emotions govern anything!"

"And hiding and crying like a abused cur solved all our problems didn't it!"

"At least it didn't create any additional ones that would have had dangerous and irreparable repercussions later on down the road!"

"Repercussions, what negative repercussions could have possibly occurred if Shinra had been destroyed?"

"The sheer number of lives that would have been lost, coupled with the destruction of the most powerful corporation in the world that, believe it or not, was the heart of Midgar, would probably have sparked a civil war."

That last remark was met with a rebellious silence that marked the imminent death of the metal battle and his logical side wasted no time driving the final nail into his emotional side's already well-made coffin.

"Remember what happened when you let your emotions run rampant in Nibleheim?"

That settled it.

-----

Sephiroth shoved his emotions into their 'special' place in his head, slammed the door and threw away the key; Logic would have preened itself if it were a physical being and not a mental construct.

Outwardly, all that had visibly changed was that Sephiroth's demeanor had suddenly switched from cold to arctic, while internally his euphoria faded away as logic clawed its way to the front of his mind.

Sephiroth had regained his former mindset with a vengeance, but with a slight modification. The Cetra had tried to screw with him, that fact now meant that he got to screw with them, with interest. There could be no mistake, he would still give them hell, he had promised himself that, but not the torrid fury it was famed for, no, he would give them an new kind of hell, the frigid rage of hell….frozen over.

-----

The Council Chamber was humming with the subdued whispers of the Council members who were preparing for the most difficult task ever presented to them, persuading the Son of Crisis to help the very things he loathed the most in the world, Humans. The mere fact that Sephiroth's meeting had caused so much commotion spoke volumes for the amount of underlying fear and nervousness that hung in the air like thick, acrid smoke.

Aeris stood in a very inconspicuous spot on the dais, chewing her lips because she had run out of fingernails to chew instead. Worry and fear coursed through her body as she waited with bated breath on the impending arrival of Sephiroth. Every second that passed felt like a weight on her body until she wasn't exactly sure how she was remaining on her feet. He was supposed to be in the chamber nearly fifteen minutes ago and yet he was not there and no word had reached them of any delay or deviation from the plan.

The plan…..the plan had been to take him through the city and show him how the people viewed him and hope that guilt, _some_ guilt would worm its way into his mind and make him a bit more…..receptive to suggestion. _That_ was the plan.

Aeris could have told them that that wouldn't work, and if anything, would make the proceedings even more difficult, but they adamantly refused to listen to her advice, saying that she was young and not experienced in the ways of the world. That may be, but she was more experienced than any of them in ways of Sephiroth's mind and she knew that they would not like what greeted them when the doors opened.

The council however, could not be said to be entirely stupid though, and had a few tricks up their sleeve that were designed to shake Sephiroth up should he prove too stubborn to deal with….or so they hoped.

Aeris felt and heard a loud 'THRUM' in her mind as the planet reaffirmed her of its presence at the proceedings. Some of the tension flowed out of her shoulders as the planet wrapped her in a warm cocoon of comfort and assurance that could leave a Zolom in a good mood.

"You are here, Mother Gaia?" Aeris pulsed to the planet.

"Yes my child, I am here to preside over this meeting because I have a sinking feeling that if I don't, the coming disaster will have no chance of being diverted." The planet pulsed in return.

Communicating with the planet was not exactly what you would define as 'speaking' but rather 'thinking'. Also you did not think in words, but rather in pulses of 'raw' thought that were neither predominantly visual or auditory, but a very subtle and complex mix of the two. That was apparently why humans could no longer commune with the planet. They had lost the ability to produce raw thought and as such could neither hear nor speak to the planet.

Aeris's eyes widened as the planet's statement registered in her head.

"The coming disaster?" Aeris asked in stark disbelief, "I though that the purpose of this hearing was to determine the fate of Sephiroth's soul!"

The planet remained silent for a few seconds before responding.

"Do you mean to tell me child that you were not informed?" The planet pulsed slowly.

Aeris shook her head inwardly and outwardly in bewilderment.

"Informed of what, Mother Gaia?" Aeris asked, "All I was told to do was to ensure that Sephiroth agreed to attend a meeting with the council willingly and then I was let in on the 'plan' to soften him up for the council, but that was it."

The planet went silent again for a while and Aeris suddenly gained the impression that it had ended their conversation.

"Mother Gaia, Are you still there?" She asked.

No response

Once again she ventured, "Mother Gaia, if I have done something to ang-", She was cut off as a hand landed on her shoulder.

Her heart leapt into her throat as she spun around to meet the green gaze that was so similar to hers.

"Mother!" She sighed, "Why didn't you just call me instead of scaring me half to death?"

Ilfana smiled and gave Aeris a gentle tap on the cheek,

"I did call you _daughter_," she said, "Twice"

Aeris flushed with embarrassment as her mother let off a stream of her soft, tinkling laughter that her father had so loved.

"I was speaking to Mother Gaia, that was why I did no hear you calling me." Aeris said, the blood still flooding her cheeks.

"I know," said Ilfana indicating over her left shoulder, "She is having a…word…with the council."

Aeris followed her outstretched finger to the Council members who were now standing ramrod straight and were as white as sheets.

"What's happening?" Aeris asked.

"Gaia is admonishing them because they all but excluded you from the proceedings when she had made it clear to all of them that you were to be in charge." Ilfana replied.

"Why, what, me in **CHARGE**? " Aeris gasped.

"Don't be surprised," Ilfana said, "You have been around Sephiroth the longest and as such would have been the best person to plan a strategy to ensure that he at least listens to what we have to say and give it some thought."

"What is so important that I had to be left out of the loop?" Aeris asked

"You were never supposed to be left out of the loop Aeris" Ilfana said, "but most of the Council members felt that you were just a little girl and ignored you completely"

Aeris bristled visibly at that statement and clenched her fists till it hurt.

"**THAT'S UTTER CRAP**" Aeris screeched, and then more quietly as more than a few eyes turned in their direction, "I died to save Mother Gaia and that is how they all see me? How many of _them_ willingly died to save the entire planet, giving up their life, friendships and even…..love!"

Ilfana stepped forward and held Aeris silently as she broke down in her arms, sobbing violently. She stroked her hair and whispered words of comfort in a way that only mothers could. Minutes passed in this fashion until Aeris slowly collected herself and stood under her own power.

Sniffling slightly, Aeris asked, "Mother, why do you know all of this, you're not on the Council?"

"The planet told me a short while ago," Ilfana replied, "She also said that I should tell you everything that she told me."

Aeris stood in shock at the words that tumbled from her mother's mouth. Disbelief permeated her entire being but as her mother continued, was slowly being replaced by a raw fear, the kind of fear that crushes your heart as if it were a tiny insect.

Aeris was silent for a long time after her mother had finished speaking and then she asked the single question that was on a lot of minds.

"Why the hell can't we ever get a break?"

As if on cue the large double doors slammed open with a resounding 'BANG' and a wind that felt like a thousand frozen knives slashing at their flesh swept through the room, causing silence to descend on the room so suddenly that it seemed as if the wind had frozen the very sounds themselves. The walking glacier known as Sephiroth entered the room, minus his guards of course, and a feeling of even greater dread slammed into Aeris.

She could almost see the icebergs that now enveloped Sephiroth's heart and wondered absently at what could have possibly happened between the previous afternoon and now that could have caused such a drastic change to occur.

The cold silence was broken as her mother turned to her and said a single word.

"Ditto."

Aeris could have cried….again.

-----

The blade sank into the man's heart with the sickening sound of metal scraping over bone and rending flesh. The man's mouth was opened in a silent scream as blood slowly began to leak from its corners and drip quietly to the ground, staining the grass crimson. His black eyes bored into hers with painful accusation. **"TRAITOR" **they seemed to cry out, **"You're a disgrace to your father's name!"**

The man grunted in pain as the blade was violently wrenched from his chest, he staggered for a second before collapsing to the ground. As the light in his eyes died, so did a part of the woman who had killed him. She cleaned her blade on his pants and sheathed it slowly while offering a silent prayer for the man's soul. Kneeling beside him, she reached for his face and closed the eyes that stared at her with betrayal, even in death. Standing up, she surveyed the carnage around her.

Hundred of people were dead, men and women from both sides, battle did not differentiatemen from women, whoever held a weapon, died with the weapon. The battle was over, they had won, but it was a victory that left a bitter taste in everyone's mouth. They had defeated every opponent on the battlefield, but had suffered a seventy-five percent loss, at least. The fact that they had outnumbered their enemy three to one was not helping matters at all, who would have thought that a routine patrol would lead to this.

She suddenly felt a presence behind her and a hand landed heavily on her shoulder. Springing into action, she grabbed the hand, twisted it violently and spun around, sweeping the person of their feet at the same time.

The person fell with a strangled cry and cried out **"Stop Major, please!" **

She froze as the voice registered in her mind, her blade stopping centimeters from the man's throat, and breathed a sigh of relief as she recognized the man's face.

"Lieutenant Martin, how many times do I have to tell you not to do that, especially when I'm in battle?"

The man stuttered unintelligibly and she sighed as she stood slowly, helping him up as she did. The man managed a hasty apology and hurried away, probably to change his pants.

"Major Kisaragi!" came a cry from behind her, "Are you alright, I was sure that that last man had you there for a second!"

Yuffie turned to see her Captain looking at her with humor dancing in his mako enhanced eyes.

"You sure sent Martin packing, I wonder if he has anymore clean underwear?"

"Leave it up to you to find the humor in this situation Alan." She retorted, gesturing around the bloody battlefield.

"There's no point dwelling on those who have already passed on, we honor their sacrifice and worry about the ones that are still alive."

Yuffie burst out laughing.

"Maybe you should be Major instead of me Alan!" She said in-between her chuckles.

"I wouldn't dream of it Major, you know the men wouldn't follow me like they do you!" He replied similarly.

The humor of the moment slowly faded however when they saw the dead and the injured being moved and taken care of.

"It hurts, doesn't it Major?" Alan suddenly said.

Yuffie looked at him out of the corner of her eye questioningly.

"Fighting your own people I mean." he continued.

Yuffie frowned darkly and in a cold voice replied, "No, not anymore, it used to, but war changes people."

She was lying and they both knew it Alan thankfully did not press the subject, he knew better than push her when she was in such a foul mood.

Alan muttered something quietly to himself, so quietly that even she couldn't hear it and abruptly bowed to her and left to go supervise the body cleanup.

Yuffie suddenly felt awful for treating Alan so badly, after all, he was one of the most important members of her unit, and her friend. He was soldier first class, those were rare nowadays, as many had been killed during the whole meteor incident, quite a few by Avalanche themselves. In the war, all men who used to be soldiers were given command positions according to their previous soldier rank, ranging from Lieutenant to Major and in truth, the only reason why Captain Alan was not Major Alan was because Yuffie was in the same squad as him. He had way more experience than her when it came to war after all, he was a Soldier who was part of Sephiroth's own troops during the Wutai War.

Yuffie shook herself from her thoughts and glanced at the body of the man that she had just killed and muttered angrily, "I really have changed."

Gone was the girl with the innocent brown eyes and the ridiculously large smile who would rob you blind before you could blink. In her place was a woman with hard green eyes, yes, green _Mako_ eyes. Her hair was the same length that it had always been, she had always had to cut it regularly, it was a habit now, you didn't want to give the enemy something to grab, did you? The only difference with her hair was that it was now streaked with silver, yes, silver, not platinum like Sephiroth's, but silver nonetheless.

It had begun to turn silver a few weeks after she had recovered from the poison. She could still see look of horror on Cloud's face as he held up a single silver strand of her hair. That hadn't been the only change within the last year however, She had filled out abnormally fast and her body looked older than her twenty years, Vincent had told her that it was the Jenova cells that had accelerated her growth so that she would hit her prime earlier. Apparently she would retain this appearance for a long time, after all, Sephiroth looked as if he was only twenty-one, and he was over thirty! Her face still loked as it used to though, if you skipped the eyes.

Her physical abilities had also improved to the point where she could almost best Cloud in a fight, she was not as strong as him, but she was much faster and her eyesight and hearing were unbelievable also, she could see clearly for miles and hear a pin drop hundreds of feet away. Down to her sense of smell and taste had improved to the point where she could smell the blood on a man who had killed days before and almost taste it. That was not necessarily a good thing however, when in the midst of a bloody battle, sometimes she wondered how Vincent and Cloud coped with it. The most frightening thing however was when the scientists told her that the cells had not finished developing yet and that she would become stronger in time, did that mean that she would be stronger than Cloud? If so, how was it possible that Cloud beat Sephiroth if _his_ cells could make _her_ so strong?

Her head hurt just thinking about it.

She had also changed her fighting style, she was a ninja and using only one weapon in battle was a huge disadvantage, well, unless you were like Sephiroth or something. She still used her Conformer as her main weapon, but now she also used two kodachi that were sheathed on her back at each shoulder, she had normal shuriken sheathed in a holster that was strapped to of her thighs, a knife in each boot, a Katana that was sheathed at her side, a wrist-blade on her left hand and a gauntlet with a small buckler attached to it on her right hand……and those were only the visible weapons. She had other hidden weapons on her person, like small knives and extra shuriken, but where those were kept was her little secret. Yes, she had become a walking armory. Normally a person wouldn't dare enter combat with so many weapons due to their combined weight and the fact that they could be cumbersome, but her Jenova enhanced abilities took care of that easily.

She looked down at herself and sighed, yes she had changed, she was now walking death. Fingering the edge of her black skintight HAEAM bodysuit that she wore under her clothes, which still consisted of her brown shorts and floral shirt with her jacket, which were now also made of HAEAM. Fighting back a groan of derision at the fact that she was forced to wear the bodysuit, which, she admitted grudgingly hade saved her from serious harm quite a few times, she turned her attention once again to the body of the dead ninja that she had just killed and stared at it for a few moments.

"I didn't betray you or my father," she whispered to herself, "You all betrayed him by following that bastard Ryoshi, for that, I'll never forgive you. I won't rest until I bathe in his blood and dance among his ashes, then, _maybe_ I'll forgive you!"

A loud 'CRACK" was heard as the man's body suddenly became airborne after receiving a ferocious kick from Yuffie and landed on a pile of dead bodies almost five hundred feet away. Soldiers spun around and regarded Yuffie silently for a few seconds before quietly returning to their work as if nothing had happened. Yuffie clenched her fists so tightly that they bled and stormed off alone in a random direction that would lead her away from the battle and everything.

"I'll never forgive them" she said

She felt like crying, but it was as if the Mako in her eyes made the tears evaporate before they reached them. Truly, how _does_ one cry when there are simply no tears left? The wind that gently rustled her clothes, her only companion at the moment, would not tell her. She looked to the darkening sky, her eyes bright with tears that could not, would not be shed.

"This truly is a time to cry" She said to herself sadly, "but I can't..."

The wind moaned sorrowfully as it passed between the trees and branches and seemed to say, "Don't worry then...I'll cry for you instead."

And for the first time in nearly a year, she wept.

-----

Well there we go, another reasonably long chapter, sorry for the cliffhanger with Sephiroth, but dramatic effect is necessary (MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA). Please read and review, please, REVIEW! Thanks once again for those who reviewed (you know who you are) and please give me some feedback, positive or negative, they both help. 

Anyway, I hope you guys are satisfied with this chapter as it took me four days to write it (at work) and I tried to be more descriptive and not rush scenes. I find that my previous chapters felt rushed towards the end, and I'm sure that after posting this a reading again it for like the tenth time, I will feel as if I rushed this one too. I hope my writing is improving as I progress or all is lost...

Until next time, ciao.


	5. Interlude 1: Bars and Cells

Disclaimer:I don't own Final Fantasy or Squaresoft even though I wished I did, almost as much as I wished that I owned 51 percent of Microsoft or invented post-it notes…….oh well if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

Summary: Set 1 year after FFVII:AC. The world is encompassed in battle as Wutai proclaims war using an army ten years in the making, now the only thing that truly stands in their way is Avalanche, but its not enough, and with the planet ready to come apart at the seams, the only man who can help is the greatest general the world has ever known...

**Dreams Of Existence**

**Interlude 1: Bars and Cells  
**

"Goddammit!" yelled Cloud as he smashed his fist through the unfortunately placed hardwood countertop, decimating yet another piece of furniture in Seventh Heaven. He had yet to realize what had transpired however, as anger usually blinded one to everything except the source of their rage. In a distant part of his mind, he carefully added the probable cost of the now ruined countertop to the already staggering amount he owed Tifa for his previous infractions and mentally winced. His brain wisely decided to withhold this information from him for the time being, just until he had calmed down enough to realize exactly what he had done….again.

Cloud glared angrily at Vincent, his eyes threatening to release searing gouts of flame at any given moment. "Why'd you have go and tell her for, she just woke up!"

Vincent, who was also sitting at the bar nursing a drink, had been busy considering the large hole that Cloud had just placed in the countertop. His eyed suddenly snapped up and fixed Cloud with an impassive stare and he remained infuriatingly silent.

"Answer me Goddammit!" he shouted, hopping the short distance from his stool to the ground. He walked up to Vincent and slammed his palm onto the bar and it creaked ominously under the force of the blow. "Why the fuck did you tell Yuffie about the Jenova cells, Wutai and her father? She was just barely recovering from an almost fatal case of poisoning as it is, and now, thanks to you, she's suffered a relapse!"

Vincent remained silent but slowly got to his feet, his crimson cloak rustling slightly as he rose. The room seemed to darken and the shadows seemed to cling to Vincent like a second skin. Cloud's eyes widened and he took an involuntary step back as Vincent's eyes seemed to ignite with a dangerous fire that threatened to burn him to ash.

"You know as well as I do that the relapse had nothing to do with our conversation. He growled, " The Jenova cells in her body are beginning to mature and are trying to break down her human cells because they are unknown."

Cloud blinked languidly and twisted his mouth into a weird frown, a sure sign that he was confused. "What?"

"They didn't tell you?" Vincent asked.

Cloud shook his head and looked questioningly at Vincent. "What are you talking about Vincent?"

Vincent sighed deeply. "I should have known that they would not tell any of you, knowing you, you'd probably try to kill them if they did."

"Who never told me what?" Cloud asked, ire beginning to leak into his voice.

"The scientists who performed the operation on Yuffie, they never told you of the true danger of the whole operation."

"And it was wh……" Cloud trailed off as his eyes brightened with sudden realization as he puzzled out what Vincent had meant earlier.

"You mean to tell me that the Jenova cells are trying to kill Yuffie's human cells because they think that _her_ cells are alien?" Cloud asked incredulously.

"That is a simple way to put it, but yes, that is basically what is occurring." Vincent said softly.

Cloud's face became stormy s he remembered the compatibility test that had been performed in the Shinra research labs. His Jenova cells had attacked Yuffie's blood so violently that is had caused the glass beaker that they were mixed in to explode. The memories of the blood-splattered room still bothered him, to think that just his blood alone could do that….

Vincent suddenly felt a pang of regret for what was going to happen to the scientists and made a mental note to inform Rufus that Cloud was going to be on a warpath looking for his scientists.

Cloud sighed and leaned wearily on the ruined countertop while regarding Vincent resignedly. "What do you mean by 'simple way to put it' Vincent?"

Vincent's glare had cooled to glowing embers by this point and he returned to his seat, nursing his drink carefully.

"I meant," he began slowly, "that what you said is generally correct, the Jenova cells are trying to kill Yuffie's cells, but not because they are alien per say, but because the Jenova cells find them to be inferior.

Cloud's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.

Vincent continued. "Jenova cells try to eliminate organisms that hinder their development and as the human cells are inferior to them, they will try to eliminate them, failing that, they determine that the cells are in fact resilient enough to assimilate and will fuse with them."

If was doubtful whether or not Cloud could look anymore incredulous. "Fuse with them?"

"Yes, _that_ is how a person becomes enhanced by Jenova cells, if they survive the 'testing' phase, then the Jenova cells fuse with the human cells, removing their negative traits while using and improving on the positive ones as well, not to mention bringing their own traits to the table."

Cloud looked as if you could knock him down with a feather. "How do you know all this, did the scientists tell you and not us?" he asked with an air of suspicion..

Vincent looked at him from the corner of his eyes and resumed staring at his glass of liquor. "No, Lucrecia had explained that to me years ago, before……." He trailed off.

Cloud felt a stab of guilt in his chest for unintentionally making Vincent dredge up painful memories and responded quickly, not giving Vincent a chance to start his brooding. "So you're telling me that Yuffie only has to survive this phase and she'll be fine?"

Vincent sighed heavily. "She'll be more than fine, she'll be the best she's ever been in her entire life." He switched his gaze from his glass to Cloud, "She'll need somebody to teach her how to handle her abilities, she won't be able to handle them and may cause herself or other people serious injury."

"Why should they cause her problems? Mine never caused me any real problems, outside of Sephiroth and Jenova trying to control me that is." He asked.

Vincent stared at Cloud for a long time, his gaze boring into him mercilessly, and Cloud began to feel inexplicably claustrophobic. It was as if Vincent's was trying to crush him with the sheer intensity of his gaze. "The Jenova cells that you received were the first Jenova cells that were extracted from Jenova after she was removed from the northern crater. The cells that Yuffie received are the ones that were genetically manipulated and improved and then placed in Sephiroth."

"So you're saying that Yuffie got '_better_' Jenova cells than mine?" he spat.

"That's exactly what I'm saying Cloud, those cells will make her very powerful, maybe even more than you. I've never seen a woman who was infused with Jenova cells before so I cannot be certain of what actually will occur, but she will definitely need help dealing with the effects that her newfound abilities will cause."

"How do you know for sure Vincent? I'm can't believe that Lucrecia told you all of that, and how do you know what type of Jenova cells were used on me, that never happened until twenty five years _after_ you went to sleep!"

Vincent finally turned to face Cloud fully and gave him a look that made Cloud unconsciously retract that last statement.

"She didn't, you can hear a lot in your sleep." said Vincent after a slight pause. "I vaguely remember some of the conversations that I heard during my sleep, but not when they took place. Since I was awoken so soon after Hojo experimented on you, I can remember patches of what was discussed, the procedure used on you and Zack was one of them."

"Why didn't you tell me about this before, it could have been useful to know that!" Cloud said.

"Because you never asked." Vincent replied

Cloud fell silent as his mind tried to wrap itself around Vincent's words and the idea of Yuffie being able to fight on equal footing with him or more. It was following that train of thought that he was struck by a startling notion. "Vincent, if these enhanced cells could make _Yuffie_ possibly stronger than me, not saying that she isn't a formidable fighter, but she wouldn't have stood a chance against a first class soldier like Zack, why wasn't Sephiroth stronger than me?

Vincent remained silent for a long while, so long in fact that Cloud began to get the feeling that Vincent had fallen asleep, albeit with his eyes open.

"I have my theories," He said suddenly to Cloud's surprise, "but none are worth mentioning yet, maybe another day if I know more we'll talk about this again, but for now, I'm going to get some air."

Vincent rose from his seat with a flourish and headed for the door, leaving behind three empty bottles of rum on the table while Cloud looked at the bottles in shock, he hadn't seen Vincent take so much as a sip, yet he had put away THREE whole bottles.

"Hey wait Vincent, are you sure about what you said, that Yuffie could really get that strong?" Cloud asked.

Vincent turned to him, his eyes holding a trace of humor in them. "Why, are you _afraid _that Yuffie could become as strong as or stronger than you Cloud….don't tell me you're _jealous_?"

Cloud sputtered angrily and tried to phrase a suitable comeback but the words managed to escape him, slipping through his mind like sand through his fingers.

"I wouldn't worry about it, as it is you already have enough problems hanging over your head." Vincent said and inclined his head towards the ruined bar, "You might want to get that fixed before tonight Cloud.

It was also at this time that Cloud's brain coincidentally decided that the time was ripe to 'remind' him of what he had done to the bar.

Vincent turned and exited the bar letting a rare smile escape onto his face as he heard the loud scream of anguish follow him out the door. Loud grumbling and the words 'Costa Del Sol' were also audible and then a loud "FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" broke the day in half. People began to direct strange looks towards the bar as they passed, while some were obviously trying to ignore the unusual sounds of a grown man sobbing that were emerging from it.

Oh yes, Vincent wasn't sure that if Cloud would run or to get a new bar counter by the time Seventh Heaven opened for business, but one thing was for sure, tonight was going to be really interesting.

He set off towards the Shinra building, contemplating whether or not to go back and tell Cloud that Tifa would be returning from the mall soon. As if on cue he saw a _very_ female shape out of the corner of his eye moving down the road at a leisurely pace towards the bar. There was no mistaking who _that_ was, very few women had that profile. He offered a short prayer for a certain chocobo headed person and resumed his walk.

"Oh well," he said to himself, "might as well go give Yuffie a visit"

-----

Minutes after Vincent left, a shrill cry shattered the usually subdued buzz of the afternoon. A wide-eyed little child looked toward his mother and asked, "What was that sound mommy?" She looked off in the general direction of the fading cry for a while and then shuddered violently.

"That, honey, was the sound of _ultimate suffering_."

The child went silent for a few seconds before gazing back down the road.

"Oh"

And the day went on.

-----

**Author's Note:**  
I loved writing this chapter because it was so light on the seriousness…yay, I just couldn't resist adding that line from Megatokyo ("That was the sound of _ultimate suffering_."). Seriously though, get used to moments of heart stopping tension followed by light humor minutes later…..I think Bleach has ruined me. I hope my writing is improving, I feel it has because I went back and read the prologue today….I was horrified at what I saw. Expect a revision of my previous chapters anytime after my tenth one, _except_ the prologue, its too abysmal to go on without immediate action (immediate being a week or two), so until I do revise it, hide the women and children!

The next chapter will be mostly Sephiroth's/meeting with the council and a the rest will be of Yuffie. I'll try to finish the entire trial in the next chapter as well as move Yuffie to where I want her...but don't hold your breath, If I do, its going to be longer than chapter two by a whole lot, probably in ten to fifteen thousand words. Also, The interludes will mainly tell select events that occured during the time between when Yuffie is in hospital and when Sephiroth comes back, so expect quite a few more interludes.

I almost forgot, thanks for the reviews and to those who reviewed (You know who you are). The story hasn't really started yet, it really gets going once Sephiroth's trial is done and stuff, so don't expect anyromance to start till round chapter six or so... ;;;;

Till next time, sayonara….


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